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Posted: 2021-01-21T00:17:36Z | Updated: 2021-02-07T13:29:45Z

As he promised, President Joe Biden spent the first day of his term walking back Donald Trump s legacy and establishing a new order through a flurry of executive actions.

He signed 17 in total, more than half of which reversed a Trump-era policy. Here is the full list:

The 100 Days Masking Challenge

In a 180-degree pivot from Trumps dismissal of the most basic coronavirus safety measures, Biden is asking all Americans to commit to 100 days of mask-wearing . While Biden doesnt have the power to mandate such a thing at the state or local level, this executive action will require masks and social distancing in all federal buildings and lands and by all federal contractors.

Stopping the withdrawal from WHO

Biden is halting the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization, which Trump was in the middle of doing. The former president had announced those plans in May, baselessly accusing WHO of inadequately responding to the coronavirus because China has total control over the organization.

Centralizing COVID-19 roles

Biden is creating an official COVID-19 response coordinator, who will report to the president on vaccines, testing and other responses to the pandemic. The president has appointed Jeff Zients, who was overseeing the presidential transition teams coronavirus plans, for the role. Biden is also reestablishing an Obama-era position called the directorate for global health security and biodefense, which was first created in the wake of the 2014 Ebola epidemic. Trump had divided the duties of that role among other positions.

Extending eviction and foreclosure moratorium

This action extends the current moratorium on evictions and foreclosures through at least March 31, ensuring protections for Americans at risk of losing their homes during the pandemic.

Extending pause on student loan payments

Similar to the eviction and foreclosure moratorium, Biden is extending the existing pause on student loan payments through at least Sept. 30.

Rejoining the Paris climate accord

Making good on one of his biggest campaign promises, Biden is reentering the U.S. into the 2016 Paris Agreement, which the climate-change-denying Trump pulled the country out of in 2017. The U.S. will become a formal party to the global negotiations in about a month, once again joining virtually every other country on the planet in the commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Canceling the Keystone XL pipeline permit

Biden is pulling permits from the Keystone XL pipeline , a highly controversial oil pipeline system rejected by former President Barack Obama but brought back to life by Trump. By pulling the permits on the 1,200-mile fossil fuel infrastructure project, Biden is effectively killing the plans.

Rescinding the 1776 Commission

Biden is pulling the plug on Trumps 1776 Commission , a highly controversial panel he established last fall in response to Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the U.S. The commission purported to promote a patriotic education but was widely panned by historians as presenting a pseudo-historical take on Americas racist past and erasing truths about slavery and the civil rights movement, all in the name of propping up Trumps own agenda.

This action is also tasking the Office of Management and Budget with analyzing whether federal money is equitably distributed across communities of color.

Workplace protections for LGBTQ people

This action will ban workplace discrimination based on a persons sexual orientation or gender identity. This is a sharp pivot from Trumps administration, which had pushed the Supreme Court to rule that gay and transgender employees were not covered by Title VII.

Fortifying DACA protections

Biden is ordering his cabinet to ensure that the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy will stay put. DACA, which is intended to protect people who arrived in the U.S. as children from deportation, has been one of Trumps targets since 2017. Now, Biden is asking Congress to adopt legislation giving DACA recipients permanent legal status and a path to citizenship.

Undoing Trumps Muslim ban

Biden has axed the so-called Muslim ban or travel ban, one of Trumps earliest policies from January 2017 that banned foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entry into the U.S. The Supreme Court upheld a very stripped-down version of it in 2018.

Reversing Trumps immigration enforcement rules

The Biden administration is ending Trumps policy of prioritizing the deportation of all undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and strictly enforcing that through Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Bidens team said it instead will set civil immigration enforcement policies that best protect the American people and are in line with our values and priorities.

Stopping border wall construction

The border wall along Mexico was one of Trumps biggest and most expensive campaign promises, but all plans for its construction are done under Biden. He is ending the national emergency Trump declared in order to divert money to the project.

Extending protections for Liberians

Biden is extending temporary protection from deportation for Liberians under the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) program until June 30, 2022. Trump had been threatening to end the program, which around 4,000 Liberians have been relying on following civil war in their country.

Requiring noncitizens in the Census

In a reversal from a policy Trump initiated last summer, Biden is requiring noncitizens to be counted in the U.S. Census, which affects how federal money is allocated across the country.

Ethics pledge for executive branch employees

Executive branch employees under Biden will be required to sign an ethics pledge and vow to to uphold the independence of the Department of Justice.

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Reversing Trumps regulatory approval process

Biden is rolling back Trumps rules for establishing new regulations, tasking the Office of Management and Budget to improve the regulatory review process and putting a freeze on regulations until his administration has time to review any that Trump enacted during his last days in office.

Read live updates on Bidens inauguration below. (Note: An ad blocker may prevent you from seeing the blog, so if youre using one, please pause or turn it off.)

Support Free Journalism

Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first.

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. We hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.

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